Simple Redirect Tool (Free Download)
I was reminded of this tool when one of my clients asked me to install it on one of their new domains . . .
Basically it allows you to quickly create “redirect” folders on your site. For instance, say this was your affiliate link:
http://www.maverickbusinessinsider.com/go?p=10929&w=mbiweb
You don’t want to include a link like that in your email! If you have a website, you can create a simple redirect and then use a link like this instead:
http://www.biztoolsbrief.com/mbi/
That’s a lot nicer looking, don’t you agree?
(BTW, that’s a live link and goes to Yanik Silver’s latest venture, “Maverick Business Insider” — it looks like a heck of a deal and you ought to check it out.)
This redirect utility will allow you to create a redirect using HTML/Javascript or PHP. It will also allow you to “frame” the destination page rather than redirecting the visitor to it.
(To “frame” the page means the page shows up on the browser but it looks like it’s a part of your site, because your web site URL is still visible in the browser location window . . .)
Click here to download the script…
Using this script is pretty straightforward, as long as your web site is on a Unix or Linux server. Just unzip the file, upload the CreateRedirects.cgi script to your web folder, and change the permissions on the script to 755 . . . then point your browser to it whenever you need to create a redirect.
Let me know what you think!
Best,
Paul
P.S. My apologies if you use a windows web server. This script could probably work for you with slight modification — you could probably find someone on eLance to modify it pretty cheap . . .
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November 4th, 2008 at 5:03 am
That’s a REALLY handy tool Paul, thanks – I’ve been lookign for something like that for a while, since I’m promoting some awesome products but don’t want it to look crappy.
I’d also recommend using a link tracker such as tweetburner.com (or the one that comes with Ed Dale’s 30-day challenge) so you can see how many people have clicked on your affialite link and you can track how the affiliate offer is converting.
for example:
my link to Michael Rasmussen’s Mini site profits exposed free videos on my site is a direct link, but if I post other offers elsewhere I use a different link tracker to see which activity is working best, so link tracker link 1 for videos, tracker link 2 for blogs, tracker link 3 for forums, etc and they all link to the same affiliate link.
This means when people follow the link to get the free videos, I can see where they have come from.
The really keen can use a different link for every video site, every forum, every blog, and then you can see what is really working for you.
I’m not sure if this is the most efficient way of doign ti, but it’s working for me!!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:15 am
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the download. This will definitely come in handy.
Sylvester
November 4th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Thank you so much Paul for this tool. You don’t post very often, but when you do, I always jump to it to read your posts. Thanks buddy! Cheers to you too Tony for the tweetburner tip..
November 5th, 2008 at 1:23 am
Downside to offsite framing: It can cause cookie issues
However, a useful idea.
I use something similar with a 404 handler in ASP.NET
it looks up anything calling /goto/XXXX and maps it to a redirect.